Medical examination drape



April 15, 1952 DJQRUP 2,593,121

MEDICAL EXAMINATION DRAPE Filed Jan. 27, 1950 F/G/ /9 F/GZ 9 Patented Apr. 15, 1952 MEDICAL EXAMINATION DBAZE. Phyllis Irene Djorup, Yonkers, N. Y, Application January 27,1950, Serial.No,. 140,795

This invention I relates to a drape for covering patients during medical examinations in general and U more particularly, during, examinations involving the pelvic region.

It is the. custom in the, medical vpro fes sipn to provide a, cover for, the patient. whenever any. general examination, is given. Thepurpose of the coveris partly. to. protect the patient from te n perature changes, but more particularly to. overcome...the.sens iti vity of patients with regard to ,1

exposure of person, apd thushelp the. patient relax to. facilitate. the examination, partieularly in gynecological and ,proctological examinations. Especially when more than onesexis present or the. patient is a. female, itis the. customto cover thepatient and to expose only the. por;

tion Qfthebody which is being examined.

Vari u..-c9nSt.m QiQ n o .coyer hav bem sed,

including-shirts,open at the. sidefBoot-like garments, and the like. Perhaps the most commonly used cover is an ordinary bed sheet or .erib sheet.

This type-orcoverhasbeen in wideuse because H tion;

it can be adapted to physical exan inations'in enerai, Italso hasthe advahtagesbf-egse in inpactness metering; and'relative nexpenevehes f H we r the b he advantages. It has alWaysbeen a. problem, to adjust a plain rectangular sheet soitlwill eoyer the patient and remain in positio'mand'yet facili tateexposing limitedareas o'flthe person as. ex-.

amination proeeedsf A bed sheetis partieularly..unsatisfactqry for yneeologieal and lproctologieal examinations.

The bed sheet is "not adapted to facilitate the limited exposures desirable withoutuneovering additional areas or dislocating. the entire.sheet 1 It is awkward andtime. consuming tojarrang'e,

andisembarrassing to thepatientifit doesnt remain inplaoe. It 'takes a trainedipersonlto arrange. such a sheetandthe sheetne'eds (5on S ad s n s he a-m h 'm peed from onepoint to another. Arrangingthefsh et a k l d m 0 I S ngmmm whi h ates. an undue amount of time of the nurse or. dqetor.

The operation is too lcomplieated. to. be. donesat;

isfactorily bythe patientherselfg' A drape afia haq qr ehh w thh einyeek t h'fihha e. se. .1 o altf lmfifl whahht ee 9%1 exam t hns nd ar pu e l h fi 1. .4 I

n o o a d r c gihe e emed qal. ram: which h ys h te fisf ada ted. o. hep aced by. the pat ent. h slf 3 laim W- main a ts qsit qn. as. t e xam nati n nrQr seeds. nd: to faci it t the p-os ireof op y, 1 m.- i edmrtion 9i th b dyata ime le eh hseh.

il x m e;

getherand the be raj, 11a

- fi re l i d:

outer to re eeiw t forms a 'free' .eent

Figure 1 is.

Figure! is airin c branch or flap l3 between the two outer hr the a a 1 def Fla 2;-

nre am. a he set;

In using the drape, the patient slips the toes into the pockets I2 and pulls the upper end IQ of the drape up over the body. The drape is equally well adapted to cover the front or the I posterior of the patients body.

For example, if the patient is to assume a position in which she lies on her back, thighs and legs flexed and knees wide apart, as shown in Fig. 5, the patient slips a foot into each pocket with the soles of the feet toward the back 20 of the pocket, and pulls the top of the drape up over the front of the body "The two outer branches l I will cover the legs of the patient and the central branch will cover the portion of the body between the legs while the'upper part IQ of the drape will cover the torso and arms.

'When the doctor is ready to make agynecological examination, it is only necessary for the nurse to raise the flap of central portion I3, whereupon the part of the body to be examined will be exposed and all the rest of the patients body will remain covered. a

When it is desired to examine the patient in the knee-chest position, as shown for example in Fig. 6, the fastening means [4, [5 may first be connected together as shown in Fig. 3. The patient then puts the drape over her back, and slips a foot into each pocket l2 with the soles of the feet toward the front of the pocket, and assumes the desiredposition. Before the examination, the central branch orflap l3 will be down as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. When the doctor is ready to make a proctological or a gynecological examination, the flap I3 is raised disclosing only the part to be examined.

The toe pockets at the end of the outer branches of the drape simplify the placement of the drape and also retain the drape in position as the examination proceeds. In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings, the toe pockets are wide at the top and narrower at the bottom. This makes it easy for the patient to guide her feet into them. Putting the feet in the pocket and pulling the top of the sheet toward the head of the patient automatically adjusts the drape both longitudinally and laterally on the body of the patient.

If a doctor wishes to examine a leg, it is very simple for the patient to slip her toes out of the pocket and then return the feet to the pocket when the examination of that leg has been finished.

When used for a general examination, the upper half of the drape is moved about for a chest or other examination of the upper body. After each step of the examination, the patient can be immediately aware that the drape is replaced in its proper position merely by pulling the top up to her shoulders, keeping her toes in the pockets.

If arm outlets are provided as indicated in Fig. 2, the patients arm can be put through the arm outlet l6, so that the shoulder I! of the drape rests upon the arm or shoulder of the patient. This is an addedaid in automatically adjusting the position of the drape, and in keep- 4 ing the drape in position, especially when the patient is standing or sitting.

The embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings can be made as follows:

A blank of the proper dimensions, such as shown in Fig. '7, is slit longitudinally at two points A, A along the lower end to form the slits AB and AB.

A blank about 64 inches wide and about 72 inches long is large enough to cover most patients. The slits AB and AB' can be about 25 inches from the outer edges of the blank leaving a flap of about 14 inches wide between the slits. The slits AB and A'B' can suitably be about 30 inches long. One end of the blank has now been slit into three parts, the outer parts forming the branches II of the drape and the central part forming the flap l3 of the drape. -At the end of each outer branch the corners are now brought together, for example, point A is brought to point D so that AC rest on DC. Ends of its two halves AC and DC are secured together as by stitching, to form the pocket I2, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4.

The cut edges of the drape can be finished in any suitable manner, such as hemming, binding or facing. Cooperating fastening means l4 and I5 respectively are now secured adjacent the insides of the flaps II and they can suitably be placed about 5 inches below the top of the dividing lines AB and A'B' respectively.

A drape having the dimensions given in the above example will be suitable for most adult patients. It will be noted that the width of the central flap I3 is considerably wider than the width of that part of the human body, sometimes referred to as the crotch, which lies between the upper inner legs, regardless of the position of the knees. The dimensions given above are by way of example. Drapes having different proportions can be used.

If a longer drape is desired, the blank can be of any desired length.

If it is preferred to cover the upper portion of the patients body with some other garment, as for example the usual hip length hospital gown, the user may prefer to make my medical drape of a shorter length.

The drape can be made any any suitable, nontransparent, drapable material, such as woven or knitted textile fabric, plastic, rubber, or paper.

Other embodiments within the scope of my invention will occur to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A medical examination drape comprising a sheet having three free branches along its bottom edge including two outer branches having toe pockets at their lower ends and a central branch between said outer branches, in combination with complemental fastening means on the two outer branches a short distance below the points Where the branches join the rest of the sheet and located at the inner edges of said branches whereby the area of the patient uncovered by lifting the central branch is limited to a short distance below the .point where the branches join the rest of the sheet.

2. A medical examination drape comprising a sheet having three free branches along its bottom edge including two outer branches having toe pockets at their lower ends and a central branch between said outer branches, having arm outlets at the upper end, whereby a patients toes in the pockets, and arms in the arm outlets adjust the drape in position covering the patients body, and the central branch is free to permit exposure of only limited areas of the body for I examination.

3. A medical examination drape of a size to substantially cover a human body comprising a sheet whose lower portion is divided into agree free branches extending from the lower end for distance substantially as long as the length of ,leg of said body in combination with toe-recfeiv ing pockets on the ends of the two outside? 10 branches.

PHYLLIS IRENE DJ ORUP.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

